Keyword Density: The Cold Hard Facts

When we talk about this subject what we really want to discover is "How Do You We Optimize A website!" Or we want to know..."How Do We Perform On Page SEO." When it comes to these questions I normally find two schools of thought. Ninja Master School One says that the proper way to train and dominate the enemy in Google is to practice and master on page SEO factors. Ninja Master School Two will say the proper way to dominate your enemy in Google is to train and master off page SEO factors. Ninja's that focus on the art of on page SEO factors speak more about keyword optimization, they want to make sure they are using the right title tags, using the right fonts, checking keyword density, and listing their images, etc. Ninja's that focus on the art of off page SEO factors won't give much regard to on page SEO optimization, but will focus on generating massive amounts of traffic through backlinking and other similar methods. Now the big question-which school is correct? Let me say it this way-if all your on page SEO factors are in order...and if you just get one backlink for your website, then you have everything that you might need to catapult you to the #1 spot on Google. Yes, you read that right. And in contrast-what will the off page SEO ninja have to do? Their focus won't be within the art of on page SEO optimization, meaning they will truly have to get their act together. In sheer numbers, a website like this will need to get 10 times more backlinks than the website that has good on page SEO factors. But, what does Google look for when it comes to ranking on its top pages? The fact is-Google focuses on both...Now these figures might not be exactly correct but you get the idea.

• Trust Authority of the host domain 23%
• Link Popularity of the specific page 22%
• Anchor Text of external links to the page 20%
• On-Page Keyword Usage 15%
• Registration-Hosting Details 7%
• Traffic-CTR Data 6%
• Social Metrics 6%

Now I know we don't know exactly what Google is looking for, but I think the point is that Google is looking for different things within your site. If you look at the points above and went to Google analytics,  ou would see that each topic listed is measured within Google. Another thing people normally focus on is the keyword being used in the title of their site or post, which carries a lot of weight. But what we also need to be mindful of is the weight that is carried with the on-page keywords. There are a lot of people that pay a lot of attention to this and then there are people who could care less. But it is something to pay attention too. I know there is a lot to consider and look at when it comes to writing a single post. But I want to stress that it should never take away the idea that are writing for people and not machines. If your writing lives and dies with Google then you will be more focused on these things. If your writing does not live and die with Google, then you wont focus as much on these points. It should never be ignored, but its not the all and all of writing. This has also produced two school of thoughts in the art of article writing and marketing. Authoritative Article Marketing would fall under the idea that you write high quality, and extremely focused articles. The idea is not to rule on Google but to be seen and noticed by webmasters. If you are in this camp, the more people that use your articles the more money you make. Usually these Article Marketers will write over a thousand words and never promote or sell in their articles. SEO Article "Directory" Marketing is a completely different game. Speed is money in this case. The more 400-500 word articles you can get out, the better you will do. This is where you see a lot of article  submission software. This has created the market place of the "guru" backlinking person, and unfortunately a lot of bad information. But the idea is to get 1000's of backlinks to your site so that you can rule Google. In this model you live and die by Google. I am not promoting or downplaying one over the other. It is two separate models that people use. It takes different skill sets, and promotion of articles. You have to decide which one works for you. But when it comes to on-page optimization, Google looks into as many as 200 on-page factors when deciding the value of a particular website? I know what you are thinking-you are thinking-what are these 200 factors? Most people talk and write about keywords, keyword density, keyword variations, HTML tags, title tags, images, right fonts, proper (H1, H2, etc.) But even if you employ just 50 of those 200 factors and add a few backlinks to your website, you will be so much ahead of any competition you may face. So What Is The Proper Keyword Density? I always look for something between 1% to 3% of the total keyword density. Less than that is too less, and anything more is considered keyword-stuffing, a sure way to get Google to NOT pay attention to your site. Now, here are some keyword density factors to pay attention to on your webpage if you are looking for good traffic and, hence, good conversions:

• Your domain name should have the keyword in it. This is mandatory.
• The URL of the website must have the keyword in it.
• Your titles must have the keyword in it. If possible, try to wedge in your keyword in every subheading you use as well, provided they are not too many. Specifically, use your keyword in all the H1, H2 and H3 tags that you use.
• Your keyword must figure somewhere in the first sentence of the article.
• Your keyword must figure somewhere in the last sentence of the article.
• Use at least one outbound link to a page within your website where your keyword works as the anchor text.
• Use at least one outbound link to an external page, i.e. a page out of your website, which is trustable.
• Get your keyword density to 2 to 4% throughout your webpage.